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Air pollution worsens as governments sit on action plans

The national capital’s poor air quality may be killing silently and slowly, but successive governments, irrespective of which political party headed them, have seemed in no hurry to act. This is obvious from the number of draft “action plans” prepared since 2009, just after Delhi started losing the gains made in air quality by implementing CNG in public transport.

At least 4-5 such drafts were prepared or discussed at various stages under the Congress government and LG Najeeb Jung. Now, in the AAP regime there is an elaborate 14-point direction by National Green Tribunal to help address air pollution. However, these plans haven’t moved from the “draft” stage. Change in governments led to delays, but even when Congress was in power the draft plan was pending with various departments for more than two years.

Both Sheila Dikshit’s government and Jung’s action plans recommended implementation of a parking policy. Jung’s plan said there would be “no tolerance zones” for parking, but except for a minor hike in parking fee to Rs 20 per hour no stringent measures were taken. Recently, NGT banned parking on tarred roads.

Though Delhi required 11,000 buses by 2010, only 6,000 run today. Simple interventions like tightening Pollution Under Control (PUC) norms recommended in all action plans exist only on paper. Jung’s high-powered committee’s plan recommending linking PUC with sale of fuel fell through due to legal ramifications. Even Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (UTTIPEC)’s street design guidelines were not implemented which could have improved walking and cycling infrastructure in the city. A few cycling and walking tracks were made during Commonwealth Games in 2010, but even they failed to connect parts of the city.

Experts said time to implement action plans is running out. “We need a game changer, not piecemeal actions. Where is the non-motorized transport network? When will public transport mediums like bus and Metro be integrated through a single card? No measures have been taken so far that can actually bring down air pollution levels considerably,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, head of CSE’s clean air campaign.

The Dikshit government did propose a hike in road tax for diesel cars in the 2011 budget, but that too met with resistance. However, a 25 paise cess on diesel imposed under Congress still exists. “No other interventions have been made to discourage use of diesel vehicles in the city,” Chowdhury said.